Buyers – Do you Think about This when You Post on Facebook?

in Buyers General Real Estate on

In January 2012 I noted that you should Choose Your (Social) Friends Wisely – “ They Could Affect Your Ability to Buy a House.

In April 2012 I wrote words of warning to those involved in real estate transactions (real estate agents, too) to Don’t Talk about your Real Estate Negotiations (on Social Media)!.

2014 brings word that lenders are more avidly farming social media to ascertain buyers’ creditworthiness. This makes complete and total sense. I google many (most?) of the people I meet. If deciding to hire someone, checking out their social media profiles is a reasonable step of due diligence. Why wouldn’t lenders check potential borrowers’ social media? (other than the fact that big banks can’t be trusted)

From the Wall Street Journal:

Lending companies … are looking at potential problems such as whether applicants put the same job information on their loan application as they posted on LinkedIn, or if they shared on Facebook that they had been let go by an employer. A small business that draws negative reviews on eBay EBAY -0.95% also could undermine its chances of getting more credit, lending companies say.

…

“It’s one of the tools we use to do underwriting,” said Sasha Orloff, co-founder and chief executive at LendUp, which is backed by companies including Google Ventures and expects to make 300,000 loans in 2014. “Do you have 4,000 friends but none are that close, or do you have 30 people but they’re very close? There are ways to measure how engaged and how strong your community ties are,” he said.

I can imagine that life insurers would check to see if someone who says they’re not a high risk is prone to skydiving on weekends, or other such risky adventures. Reasonable, right?

In other words – Be careful what you post online.

I do wonder … could lenders one day ask for your gmail login credentials to see your networks? Or if buyers could use “do you check my social media profiles” as a means to evaluate lenders?

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Brief Real Estate Market Update for January 2014

in Albemarle Charlottesville Market statistics on

A snippet from my monthly note:

Market Update for Charlottesville and Albemarle:

Single family home sales in December 2013 vs December 2012: 87/89 – Same, as far as I’m concerned
Single family home sales in 2013 vs 2012: 1302/1215 – Up 7%

Attached home sales in December 2013 vs December 2012: 23/24 – Close enough to be the same.
Attached home sales in 2013 vs 2012: 441/339 – Same

Condo sales in December 2013 vs December 2012: 6/13 – Down 54%
Condo sales in 2013 vs 2012: 167/234 – Down 29%

Keep in mind that these stats are likely not completely up to date, as agents are still entering in closings from 2013. But they’re likely close enough to say that there were a few more Charlottesville/Albemarle single family homes sales in 2013 than 2012, attached home sales were about the same and condo sales were way down (mainly because Walker Square condos sold out in 2012). And you know what? We’re due for some stability, free of spikes and drops.

List sooner rather than later (Y’know, I’m a Realtor. You could call me . 🙂 )

I suspect that we’re going to see more inventory as the year progresses.

More inventory means more competition and selection for buyers. More competition means potential price appreciation for sellers is likely to be diminished.

Charlottesville MSA Listed, Contract, Sold.png

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Crozet in 2013

in Albemarle Blogging on

The more I’ve thought about this, the more I hope to make time to got back and do a wrap up for 2012, 2011, 2010 …

If you’re interested in what happened in Crozet, I went through the 2013 archives and chose what I thought to be the best and most relevant stories in 2013 . I’m posting this for two reasons:

1 – I think it’s a useful story.

2 – It’s an example of why I continue to write on this and that blog; putting together this type of year end summary as efficiently as I did would be impossible on any other platform (Facebook, G+, Twitter, etc)

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A Few Homeowners Insurance Questions Answered

in General Real Estate on

I like experts. My clients come to me seeking solutions and part of the solution is helping them assemble the right team to help throughout the process. Everyone needs homeowners’ insurance and I tend to recommend Gary – I’ve found him to be helpful, knowledgeable and willing to share knowledge. I asked him to answer a few questions that most (new) homebuyers have.

By Gary Albert with State Farm.

Q: What is the purpose of home insurance?

A: For many, your home is the most important investment you make. So it makes sense that you would

want to protect that investment through homeowners insurance. The fundamental basis of insurance is the transfer of risk from one person or entity to another. We make decisions daily about risk in our personal lives, and each of us have a different tolerance for retaining risk compared to our neighbors. As it relates to homeowner’s insurance, the premium we pay speaks to how much of this risk we are retaining versus how much we are transferring to the insurance company.

Q: Tell me more about deductibles.

A: When you file a claim, the homeowner is responsible for a predetermined part of the costs. This is called a deductible. As a general rule, a low deductible will result in higher premiums, and a higher deductible will result in lower premiums. There is no template rule of what deductible to carry. There are some that advocate for the lowest deductible available and some that lean toward the other end of the spectrum, looking for the higher deductible options. It’s best that you figure out what works best for your particular situation.

To help make this decision, consider your financial situation and personal emergency savings in the event of a large loss to your home.

Q: How are rates set? Do weather disasters in other parts of the country impact the rates we pay here in Virginia?

A: At State Farm, we use claims experience from the past several years to project the cost of future claims. The ratemaking process also factors in trends such as the costs for construction, medical payments and other variables.

Rates are based on each state’s claims experience. This means premium dollars stay within the state and do not compensate for losses in other states. So a wildfire in California will not have an impact on our rates here in Virginia.

Q: What about homes that need some work? Is there anything from an insurance point of view you should know when buying a fixer-upper?

A: First, make sure you work with reputable contractors. Get quotes from a few licensed contractors to find the best deal. You also want to make sure the contractor has liability and workman’s compensation insurance to protect you if someone is injured on the job.

Once you are done fixing up the house, make sure you check in with your insurance agent to see if you need to change your coverage. The upgraded kitchen you added could increase the cost to rebuild if something were to happen, and you want to make sure you’re adequately covered.

What’s a CLUE Report? How is it used in the home buying process?

Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, 7 year database of claim information. Only the owner or the insurer, or lender can access the information. This service is maintained by Lexis Nexis.

When considering making a purchase of a home, involve an insurance company early in the process to run this report. Some carriers may not do this upfront, so be sure to ask if this report is being run at the time of the quote. If there are prior losses on the property, the insurer (and prospective home buyer) will want to research the repairs and get ahead of any potential loss/insurability concerns. I recommend doing this before the home inspection.

Q: Anything else to add?

A: Insurance can be very personal. Meet with your insurance professional on a regular basis to make adjustments to your coverage as needed for updates, improvements, additions, and endorsement review. Our community has many local, reputable insurance agents. If you’re unsure of whom to speak with, ask your neighbor, good neighbors are usually good sources of information.

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Fighting FUD – Charlottesville Real Estate Market in 2014

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on


FUD: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. There’s going to be a fair amount of that in 2014, and more than ever, it’s going to take real estate consumers (and real estate pros, for that matter) more effort to distill the good information from the bad.

2013 is over. 2014 is here. Goodie. Reflecting on my “6 Things to Watch in 2013,” I’m satisfied that the six things were on point, and all six points – Quality Inventory, Home Prices, Fewer Distressed Sales, Confidence in the market, buyer frustration and a lot more apartments – will carry forward into 2014.

I’ve been practicing real estate since 2001 and each year i’ve said that the market is interesting and different – it’s one of the reasons I continue to practice; every day is a new day with new things to learn.

I’ll be posting individual stories on these “topics to watch in 2014” over the first two weeks of January:

– QRM – Qualified Residential Mortgages (note that many of the rules have yet to be written). Will it be hard or harder to get a mortgage in 2014?

– Interest Rates – will they go up or down or stay flat? This speculation always brings uncertainty into the market

– Inventory – I predict there will be more – more resales and more new construction

– (Un)Employment – this is going to be a key factor in the Charlottesville MSA

– Home prices – Up, down, flat? Can sellers sell? Can buyers afford to buy?

I’m going to touch on these as well in my January monthly note, which, based on feedback, has proven to be equally valuable to those actively in the buying/selling process as well as those who bought years ago and remain in Charlottesville.

All told, I think Lauren at the Newsplex accurately quoted me in her story last week, and what I said well captures 2013 entering 2014:

“For Charlottesville/Albemarle we’re going to see a mix of cautious optimism and optimism,” says Jim Duncan, partner at Nest Realty. …

“This is going to be the second year where a lot of sellers are going to be able to have the legitimate conversation about whether they can sell and not lose money and that’s going to be a real shift in our market,” says Duncan. “I think that’s going to bring on more inventories which are going to be more competition for sellers and more choices for buyers.”

…

“Fewer people in the market are under water, meaning that they are able to sell and not lose their down payments or their savings,” Duncan explains.
…

But as many people continue buying homes in 2014, the amount of renters will also rise.

“We’ve seen people who used to buy now choosing to rent, because they don’t know if they are going to be here for more than four to five years,” says Duncan. “I think there has been a reevaluation of what it means to buy a home.”

Finally, my words from last January remain true:

My advice to my clients, whether they are buying or selling, (sounds silly, I know) starts with listening. Where are they now (in life, jobs, homes), where do they want to be (see previous notes) and where can they get realistically?

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Virginia’s General Assembly is Upon Us Again – 2014 Edition

in General Real Estate Politics on

Once again, the Virginia General Assembly will be in session soon. They’ll be filing all sorts of bills from whether a meth lab house needs to be disclosed (they tried this one last year, too) to whether there should be an extended minimum clearance space vehicles passing bicycles to this oddity: “Signing of pleadings, motions, and other papers; real estate licensees. Proscribes an individual from alleging a real estate licensee has engaged in untrue, deceptive, or misleading advertising unless such licensee has been convicted doing so.”

Richmond Sunlight is a tremendous resource for staying informed, getting educated, and realizing that there’s an awful lot of Commending in the General Assembly and that paid lobbyists are probably the only ones who can keep up with the flood of bills (and know which ones are BS, which ones are legitimate, who’s supporting what and which ones have a chance to pass).

As distasteful as politics are, this stuff matters. If you’re interested in what I’m tracking, these are the bills that I’m following. What interests you?

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